I’ve been into 3D printing for a couple of years now. It actually started because I wanted to print plastic panels for a custom motorcycle project I’ve been working on for a long time. I recently went from a Creality Ender 5 S1 to a Bambu P1S, and that’s also when I really started discovering the community side of all this.
One thing I’ve really enjoyed is sharing models and getting inspired by all the clever ways people solve everyday problems. I also get that the MakerWorld algorithm seems pretty complicated, and that sometimes it honestly comes down to pure luck whether a model takes off or not.
That being said. I´ve uploaded a bunch of models now, and at least some of them I´m quite happy with. Almost no downloads at all. Can be quality, bad ideas or just unlucky and it doesn´t bother me much, but I would like to give the community the possibility to roast my page. Feel free to really give me the harsh truth on what´s wrong with what I´m doing
You should title your print profiles if you have seperate versions.
The only huge issue that I see is duplicate models (or what MW might consider a duplicate). You have the water head hose squeezer, then the parametric version. You also have 4 different versions of the EDC matchbox, which is fine because the geometry is different, but why would anyone print version 2 if you have a version 3.
It just takes time, your models are good, but they do not scream anything unique or front page desirable. Keep on posting and they eventually come through. Lean into a category and go for it.
You will have some models that royally flop, that is just part of the game.
Side note
I am an EDC guy. A small Bic lighter is way better than matches.
Honestly, the spammer part hit quite deep while I’ve been trying out different ways to get attention, where posting every new model on the community page it really felt like spamming. Not sure if it’s worth it at all to post there. But if it is, then the question is which type of models is worth posting.
Awesome, would love to see pics on how the holder looks in wood!
Regarding the duplicates, is it then generally better to update the uploaded post you already have when a new iteration is designed rather than having multiple available versions of it? Because I’ve seen examples of both when browsing around.
I’m a match guy. Think mainly because I like the feeling of lighting a match over a bic lighter. The bic lighter is however just better in every single way in practical terms
Do not worry about low views, downloads, prints. There are a few hughely successful models. But compared to the total number of models on MW, they are actually few and far between.
Most models have few downloads, racked up over a long time. So do not compare your models to the top 0.1%.
As for improvements, you may want to pin more models to your homescreen. Initially, only 3 show up. And they are rather niche (small pet owners using that flask but not having a holder, match users, watch collectors willing to put (a lot of) screws into their wardrobe) and therefore have a small audience.
Looking at the guinea pig bottle, the gif is very useful but does show defects (random seams and moist filament?).
As for posts, I believe that is only really useful once you have followers or when you make updates/new versions.
Considering they were all released within a few days of eachother, I would have waited until you are happy with the final product.
For different variations, use print profiles.
As for matches vs a lighter. Moisture is the big issue. Matches are useless once they get wet and will stay that way. A bic you can soak in a pond, let it dry for a few minutes, then it is fine.
Thats why my Swiss army knife has a toothpick on it.
seems legit, good photo quality. These are generic objects with generic tagging, so you may benefit also from giving them a name, theme, or some sort of connection
these profiles should be named to tell why they are different. Drilling into print profiles via the web UI pre-downloading is painful so dont make the user do that
Four of your twelve models are matchboxes. Almost nobody carries matches.
Your model pictures, especially in the web view, are very “artsy” - less focused on the actual object. The pen holder is a good example, I would want to see actual details of how it actually holds pens. Ditto your watercolor storage solution. The app pictures are better.
Your pet water bottle holder is askew in the holder, that’s a subtly off-putting detail.
The zits in the white part are really bad.
Your profile picture is very striking. That’s a subtle deterrent to some people. It’s probably not best to draw attention away from the designs. More vanilla would be better.
“Hose squeezer” sounds like a nickname for a girl I knew in high school. It’s a compression fitting, add that to the model tags for those items.
Your closet watch holders require putting holes in your wall, not a lot of people are going to do that when non-permanent options exist.
For the watch holders, a small lip to stop the watches from sliding off would be a good idea.
Hidden fasteners would be better, if you absolutely must.
The dish rag holder is a problematic design. I guarantee the slot allows water to find it’s way under the holder, that’s a pretty fatal flaw. I can see it starting to happen in the video. At minimum it needs a spout.
The water balloon filler cap looks clever, you should emphasize that it’s a print in place or one piece design.
“PET water balloon…” makes it sound like it’s meant to be printed in PET, most people don’t have that. I know it refers to the bottle type, but in North America, at least, they’re not even called PET bottles.
Keep at it. Look at more really good models, develop an eye for what works and what doesn’t.
I´ll probably go back and fix some of the stuff directly, such as naming etc. Love the model feedback as well. Will be V.2 for at least some of those models
Yeah, with the guinea pig bottle, that´s unfortunately me being lazy where I was running out on filament and noticed that the seam setting was off and probably a bit moist as well. Was thinking that “at least it works as intended” Doesn´t look good though.
One thing that I´m struggling with when it comes with what models to design is the balance of “going where my brain takes me” and “This seems popular / not niche”. There´s probably a good balance between those two, but I haven´t found it yet
@CarbonForge basically nailed it all. The main things to me are these are sort of obscure things that most people aren’t looking for, and you only started posting things a few weeks ago not sure what you expected. If you look at popular designers, most of them have plenty of things that never took off in their list of models.
I think you have to decide, am I doing this because I just want to share the things that I am doing in case anyone else cares, or are you doing this because you want to try to get a bunch of points/giftcards. It can be both, but if you want your models to get attention, you’re going to need to heavily consider what do people want to actually print and enter contests etc.
People appreciate good, thoughtful design - and then you’re only limited by the type of item it is.
You’re clearly a very artistic person. Do designs that make you happy, and build your skills to do it very well. Chasing what’s popular is never a path to fulfilment!
Yeah, you’re probably correct about that. I will take a closer look at the contests and try to make something for one of those just to see what it’s like to design from a-z with a specifik goal in mind.
My 3D printed creations are mostly practical items or things with a longer shelf life; currently, they only have a little over 1k downloads, and are just some casual photos I took.
while I’ve been trying out different ways to get attention, where posting every new model on the community page it really felt like spamming. Not sure if it’s worth it at all to post there. But if it is, then the question is which type of models is worth posting.
& 
Doesn´t look good though.